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Junior marketers face '33% chance' of robots taking their job in next 20 years

Marketing directors could be set to welcome robot underlings as artificial intelligence reshapes Britain's workforce, according to academic research setting out the chances of different professions becoming automated over the next two decades.

It happened to Cara, when Brian took her job as Confused.com's brand mascot, two years ago.

Now real marketers could be next to be replaced by robots, if you believe the assessment of Oxford University academics Michael Osborne and Carl Frey, who have scored 365 occupations for the risk of being automated.

Top of the risk list, with a 99 per cent chance of that happening in the next 20 years, are telemarketers.

Among those least at risk are marketing and sales directors, who stand just a 1 per cent chance.

However, the occupation of 'marketing associate professional' is judged more open to change, with a 33 per cent risk.

The calculations are based on how susceptible to automation each job is based on nine key skills required to perform it; social perceptiveness, negotiation, persuasion, assisting and caring for others, originality, fine arts, finger dexterity, manual dexterity and the need to work in a cramped work space.

The 'Will a robot take your job?' survey can be found on the BBC website. It forms part of the BBC's 'Make it Digital' series. This week the BBC is running content across the week under the theme 'Intelligent Machines Week'.